Flowers In Her Hair
by Forever-Tangled
Summary: Inspired by the line in a Led Zeppelin song. One-shot about Eugene's feelings towards Rapunzel during her birthday. Rated K because it's 100% fluff and I'm not one bit sorry.


**A/N:  
So I just saw this quote on Pinterest, and I absolutely ****_love _****it so incredibly much that I immediately got some inspiration from it and just ****_had _****to write something. I found that it's lyrics to the song "_Going to California"_ by Led Zeppelin.  
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_Someone told me there's a girl out there with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair._

I watched the blond girl twirl in endless circles, engaging the entire town square in a lively dance. When she beckoned me out to dance with her, I played it cool, I shook my head and turned her down. Though she shrugged it off and continued to dance, I fought desperately to keep my feelings under wraps. I couldn't be falling for her. I _couldn't._ Flynn Rider never 'fell in love'.  
...But she'd torn apart Flynn Rider and coaxed out Eugene Fitzherbert; the poor little orphan boy who had only ever wanted someone to love him and to receive his affection in return.

I tried to shake my thoughts away from her, but couldn't help but notice the growing fondness in her eyes. The flowers in her hair smelled sweet as she, later, scampered on a lively exploration of the town square. She was so enthusiastic. Was this how someone acted when they had been sheltered from the world's cruelties their entire life? Well, if this was so, then if I ever ended up with a family, I was never going to let my children find out about the horrors of the world. I'd want them to have her personality; her enthusiasm, her...  
_Whoa, hold up there, Rider. _ First, you were trying to hide your feelings; now you were planning a _family_? That's classic.  
Lost in thought and trying to keep her from noticing my emotions, I tried to give her a cold response to her steady stream of eager chatter.  
She immediately picked up on it. "What's wrong? Am I bothering you with all my talking?"  
"No. Nothing's wrong," I avoided her eyes, but she demanded to be seen, stopping me and perching her hands on her hips, making me meet her eyes.  
"If you don't want me to talk so much, just say so and I'll stop!"  
I froze. _Way to screw up, Rider. _"No! No-no-no-no no, don't stop talking. I was just...thinking."  
She didn't buy it; I knew she didn't by the suspicious look she threw me, but she said no more, turning her attention back to the sights of the kingdom.

I held flowers for the girl as we waited for the lanterns. The face she made as she decided which one to drop in the water next was fairly cute, and I loved how her slim fingers just barely touched the palm of my hand as she daintily plucked each flower out of my hand. When she ran out of flowers, she kindly asked me to pull a few flowers more from her hair so she could continue. That wasn't a problem; the problem was that I was struggling even harder now to conceal my emotions. I couldn't help but wonder: _could _she be the one...the girl with the flowers in her hair and love in her eyes? What part of my brain was even considering this?! I wasn't good enough for her.  
_You're really screwing this up, Fitzherbert. You can't fall for her. _I commanded myself to think of something, ANYTHING, else, but I couldn't. A small voice in my head asked, _what if you **can **fall for her? What if you can love her, and she'll love you, and...what about that good old happily ever after everyone talked about? _I tried to drive my thoughts from that, but hardly had time to force it out of my head before she looked up and gasped.  
She jumped up, racing to the mast of the small rowboat, her eyes skyward. I just barely managed to keep inside the boat - let alone keep the boat from capsizing! I watched her watch the night sky, and that's when I knew I was in deep. I'd fallen down the deep, dark abyss that was _love_, and no way was I able to crawl my way back out. Maybe I didn't even want to. The feeling of deep affection for the girl filled me to the brim, enveloping me warmly. Or maybe that was just the lanterns.

I surprised her with two lanterns that I'd picked up earlier in the day, and the look she gave me was beautiful. Her eyes were glimmering with a mix of emotions - all positive emotions, of course. Then she pulled out my satchel. I was shocked, to say the least. But I didn't care about it now. I wanted to throw it over the edge of the boat, but knew it would be a fairly stupid move on my part.  
"...but I was just scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?" she asked, watching me with a curious expression.  
"I'm starting to," I pushed the satchel out of her hands, and her face absolutely lit up. That's when I knew she knew. She knew exactly the deeper meaning: that I had given up being afraid to show my feelings for her. She took her lantern, and we launched the set of lanterns into the night sky, watching them twirl into the air, winding around each other as if they were dancing. Dancing like I wished I would have done with Rapunzel today. Shining brighter than stars, they twisted further and further into the air, and I finally glanced back to Rapunzel. She was already off to the next thing, watching the lanterns with intriguing intensity. I allowed a small smile to light my face - I couldn't hide it anymore. The beautiful girl was humming a tune quietly, and I found myself making up lyrics to the song - in my head, of course. She gasped suddenly, smacking the side of the boat with the palm of her hand and pointing.  
"Look!" she exclaimed, and I followed her gesture to see a lantern with a sun emblem floating lower and lower to the water. She leaned far, far out over the edge of the boat, and I leaned towards her, ready to catch her if she went to fall. She didn't, and managed to push the lantern skyward, watching it gaily.

I just had to. I impulsively reached to scoop her hand delicately in mine. I was almost afraid to touch her; she looked so fragile. She turned to me with a wide eyed expression, her other hand twitching in surprise. But then her face lit up with the most beautiful smile, and reached to slip her other hand into mine. The girl with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair took a deep breath, and I literally sang a duet with her. _  
You're such a sap, Fitzherbert, _I thought to myself as I belted out the lines. I meant each and every word in the song that we shared, and I knew she did, too. Her eyes never left mine, and when the last notes of the song faded into the distance, I leaned towards her to gently sweep a lock of hair away from those beautiful eyes. I cupped her cheek in my hand, my eyebrows rising slightly as I asked a silent question...I wanted to kiss her. She caught on, giving me a slight smile. She looked excited. She looked a little nervous, too, but she was eager. We leaned towards one another, and her hand almost slipped from mine. I grasped it a little tighter and watched as her eyes closed, waiting for her lips to meet mine in what would be her very first kiss.  
The kiss never happened at the boat; but the girl with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair never gave up on me.


End file.
